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Cynthia L. Pickett: Statement

Friday, March 24, 2017

A professional society such as the Society for Personality and Social Psychology serves many functions for its members. These include promoting our science, disseminating our work to the public, and fostering the careers of the next generation of social and personality psychologists. I am running for Member-at-Large because I am passionate about the success of our field and feel that I can make unique contributions to these efforts. As an SPSP member, I have served on various SPSP award committees, chaired the SPSP Convention Committee, and served as an instructor for the SPSP Summer Institute in Social and Personality Psychology. I have enjoyed working with colleagues, students, and the Society’s administrative staff and would welcome the opportunity to continue to do so.

My primary goal as a board member would be to work with the rest of the Executive Committee to examine ways that the Society can better serve the needs of its members. I believe that the SPSP Executive Committee should play a strong leadership role for the Society particularly when there are critical issues facing the field. I also believe that the Society can become even more forward-thinking. As a Member-at-Large, I would take a proactive approach and try to anticipate changes to come so that, as a Society, we can actively shape the future for ourselves and others. Because one of our most valuable assets is each other, I would work to continue the current effort of improving communication between SPSP members and between SPSP members and the SPSP Executive Committee. There is a particular need for active participation from the full spectrum of the SPSP membership and to engage the large, but often less vocal, segments of the Society. Last, but not least, I feel that is critical to remove barriers that may prevent some SPSP members from fully participating in the Society’s activities. As Chair of the SPSP Convention Committee, I worked to implement on-site childcare at the annual meetings in San Diego and New Orleans. As a Member-at-Large, I would continue to explore ways to make the Society’s professional activities accessible to all members of the Society.

Finally, we are living in a time of unprecedented change. SPSP encompasses a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and diverse points of view that can be harnessed to improve the world we live in. We need to remain actively engaged and vigilant and not steer away from bold action when it is warranted. SPSP is the voice for our science, and it is critical that our voice be heard.